Letter from the Editor - Fall 2016

Hi All,

We have a jammed packed issue for you this quarter.  Art, poems, stories, interviews and reviews... It's a great issue, if I say so myself.

Just a few housekeeping items before everyone goes to peruse the issue...

1. Our music writer is taking a hiatus from writing for a little bit - if anyone is interested in writing the music column, email me at holidaycafe.nicole@gmail.com.  When he comes back, he will actually be writing a new and different column for us.... 
2. Don't forget that we have our Ads section - if you want to add your local business email it to me at holidaycafe.nicole@gmail.com.
3. We are always looking for submissions.... send them today to make it into the next issue.

Alright, that is all for now.  Go Enjoy the issue.

Until the winter issue, 

Nicole 

What Alice Forgot (Fall 2016 Issue)

Note – If you have not read this story, this review contains some spoilers. All opinions are my own and may differ from your views of the story.

Long time no chat! I stepped away from my book review post last quarter to interview the guys at the Drinking Partners Podcast (if you haven’t checked them out – I still highly recommend it!). But I’m back with another book to discuss with you. This time around we’ll discuss What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty.

This book/author was recommended to me by coworkers, so I had to give it a shot as it came with great reviews. The premise of the book center around Alice – but in two story lines. So we meet Alice and she’s a 29 year old wife and soon to be mother. Crazy in love with her husband, thrilled to be a mother – everything is great. Except it’s not.

Alice has just woken up on the floor of a gym, where she’s passed out and hit her head. In reality, Alice is 39 years old, has three children, is in the process of a divorce and oh yeah, is not a very nice person anymore. But she doesn’t remember any of this having suffered from amnesia when she hit her head. People in the present are baffled by this softer, nicer version of Alice. Alice is baffled by why they would think she’s anything but kind. Then slowly, she starts to recover her memory and remember the reality, but with the realization of wondering if she truly wants to go back to the newer version of ‘Alice’

For me this was a thought provoking book. How many of us are the same as we were 10 years ago? Have we changed for the better? Do we have the same friends? Same job? All thoughts that ran through my head as I read this book. I found it enjoyable but at the same time a little sad. I can’t imagine the frustration of thinking life is one way, when it really is not. But on the flip side, it could present an opportunity to create a new path and create a better version of yourself.

Gwen O’Brien works full time in higher ed, works full time as a wife, works full time as a mom, works full time as a dog mom and occasionally finds time to write or edit. She resides in McDonald and enjoys reading, yoga and donuts (not necessarily together) when she’s not working.

Bliss (Fall 2016 Issue)

Golden High Flow Acrylic and pastel on Primed gesso illustration board

Mary Dunn - is a retired Project Manager who is now a full-time artist/instructor and owner of DaVine Creations an in home painting party venue.  She lives in West Mifflin with her husband and dog.

Musings for Moms (Fall 2016 Issue)

Bullying...

I don't think I can stress enough how much bullying disgusts me.  The mear thought of children picking on other children (or teens/tweens/etc.) is just disgusting...
I know I have written about it in the past, but I feel like this subject could always use a refresher.

The fact that bullying seems to be everywhere you turn these days, doesn't help matters... What better example of bullying than all these advertisements for the elections coming up...

I digress...

Why do children bully?  Good question, don't you think?  While I don't have an actual answer for that as I suspect it is more of a case by case basis, I would suspect it has something to do with either jealousy or the bulliers low self-esteem.  That's just a guess on my part.

What I can say, is that if your child is being bullied you need to stop the bullying on the spot - same thing goes if you find out your child is the bully... don't just turn a blind eye...

Signs your child is being bullied

• unexplainable injuries
• books/clothes/personal effects damaged/destroyed
• changes in routine - eating habits change/skipping meals or binge eating
• sudden nightmares or restless sleep
• decline in grades/not wanting to go to school
• loss of friends
• decrease in self-esteem

Signs your child is the bully

• verbal or physical altercations
• friends are bullies
• become more aggressive
• regular visits to principal's office/etc.
• unexplained money/new belongings
• don't accept responsibility for their actions

I love that there is a new cell phone app out that will find people you can sit with at lunchtime, but in reality - shouldn't we sometimes just take a chance with the kid that is sitting all alone... he/she might become a really great friend.

The Story of Guns 'n Roses (Fall 2016 Issue)

It was October 1996. Axl Rose just faxed a letter to Kurt Loder of MTV informing him that guitarist Slash had just quit Guns N’ Roses.  Slash said his reason was a total inability to work with Rose on a creative or personal level anymore.  A year later, bassist Duff McKagan left the band also stating his reason as total inability by Rose to do anything music related.  And that was it - Guns N’ Roses was done.  Axl Rose still owned the name and would perform occasionally under the name and would release a new album many years later using the name Guns N’ Roses, but it lacked the GNR sound. For all intent and purposes Guns N’ Roses were gone, never to return.  A very dark ending, but it wasn’t always that way…

Guns N’ Roses was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985.  They struggled as most bands do by playing gigs where they could find them.  That was until they were signed by Geffen records in 1987 and recorded their first album titled Appetite for Destruction.  The following year in the summer of 1988 the band’s first single Sweet Child O’Mine shot up the charts and hit number one on the Billboard top 100.  It was followed up by the singles Welcome to the Jungle and Paradise City, both of which reached as high as number 7 on the Billboard top 100.  To date Appetite for Destruction has sold 30 million copies. 

Because of endless touring in support of Appetite for Destruction, the band did not have time to record another full length album. So instead they put out an EP called Lies.  It featured 4 new songs and 4 songs performed live.  The only single on this EP was called Patience but it ended up being a much larger hit than expected, peaking at 4 on the Billboard top 100.  Lies has sold 5 million copies.

After some much needed rest the band returned to the studio in 1990 and had their most successful period of writing and recording songs.  The band was in the zone and in perfect harmony with each other.  They recorded a lot of real quality songs, the only problem was there were too many for one album.  The band came up with the idea of releasing the album in two parts.  Geffen records agreed and in September 1991 Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II were released and debuted on the charts at number 1 & 2.  These albums would go on to have 9 singles between the two of them and sell a combined 23 million albums.  The band went on a massive 3 yearlong world tour in support of the Use Your Illusion albums playing stadiums all over the world.  

While the enormous tour was great for financial gains, it was near the end of this tour where the band started to drift apart and wedges started to get driven.  The band was so exhausted after the tour that they decided to just put out an album of themselves covering some of their favorite songs by punk rock bands.  The album was called The Spaghetti Incident.  The album did not do well, selling only 1 million copies.  Shortly after this we end up where this article began, at the end. Or so we thought.

After 20 years of the former members of GNR going in and out of different bands and different projects, the impossible happened. In January 2016 it was announced that Rose, Slash and McKagan had reconciled their long standing differences and that there would be a reunion tour of stadiums in the USA.  I personally was very excited to hear this, but tried to temper my expectations because of their volatile history.  But low and behold on July 12th, I saw my favorite band of my middle school years live, something I never thought would happen.  Not only did I see them, I was blown away.  They played for over 3 hours.  The setlist covered their entire career, everything from all their hits to some really cool deep cuts.  This just goes to show you that no matter how improbable something is, nothing is impossible.

Sean O'Brien is the Music Writer for the Holiday Café. He enjoys going to concerts, playing the drums and rocking out to Grunge music.  He resides in McDonald, PA with his wife and daughter.

Time Machine (Fall 2016 Issue)

If I had a time machine
I would go back in time
When you were in your prime

To actually live history
The things that I would do
Swing my feet to swing music
Lets eat some Italian and German cuisine

Instead of asking what it was like?
Uh ha! this is what it was like!
Those infamous train tracks
Just doing a days work

To socialize and to see how you lived
In disbelief on how your generation and my generation are nothing alike


Natalie Belin holds an Associate's degree in Specialized Technology Le Cordon Bleu Pastry Arts. Natalie is a part-time percussionist and loves the arts and adventure!

All Shades of Autumn (Fall 2016 Issue)

Abstract Digital Art

Lara Biyuts - A middle-aged translator and agent seeking author of 14 self-published books of fiction, I make my book covers as digital artist.

Klavon's - Ice Cream Excellence (Fall 2016 Issue)

Over the summer, I had an amazing ice cream experience, right here in this fantastic city of ours...

Klavon's (located in the Strip) is all sorts of fabulous.. starting with the ice cream and homemade whipped cream to the fun vintage decor.  If you are in the Strip - you HAVE to try this place out!  

1)   Klavon’s has a long history, what is one thing from the years that stands out as a significant moment for the shop?

Perhaps the biggest moment at the shop was when James Klavon, the original owner, got trapped in the shop during the St. Patrick's Day flood of 1936.  We commemorated the 80th anniversary of the flood by giving away shamrock shakes on St. Patrick's Day 2016.  What we did not anticipate was how in tune Pittsburgh is with it's history.  More than 2,500 people came to our shop that day.  From all over the City we heard stories of people who survived and the tragedy the flood caused throughout the river valley.  Luckily for James, he crawled out of the window and a passing rowboat rescued him!  This story shows the deep appreciation for history our customers have and what the shop means to the city.

2)  With the store being close for two decades … How did the idea form to re-open the shop solely as an ice cream parlor?

The ice cream bar, as it exists today was installed after World War II.  At the time, it was fashionable to eat ice cream and take medicine.  The shop continued this way until it closed in 1979 during the collapse of industry in Pittsburgh.  Ray Klavon, son of James Klavon said the happiest memories of his childhood were from the shop.  When he was a teenager he worked at Isaly's Dairy as a soda jerk.  When he retired from being an art teacher at Grandview Elementary School on Mount Washington, he reopened the shop.  It was like opening a time capsule.  There were still glasses on the tables.  Nothing had been touched and, thankfully, Ray did not renovate.  However, he put in a lot of effort into getting the business up and running and he focused just on the ice cream part.

3)  What made you want to start making your own ice cream for the shop?  

 What made you want to start making your own ice cream for the shop?At the time my wife had just delivered our third child.  She was concerned that when the kids were old enough and at school she would be bored at home.  Now we have five children and being bored is no longer a concern!  At the time, however she wanted to buy a kid based business.  We looked at a lot of businesses and they were all losing money.  There was a theme, however, the landlords were getting rich.  So I told Desi if she wanted to buy a kid friendly business, the building would have to come with it.  A couple months later Klavon's came up for sale.  We had taken the kids there before and we really liked it.  In June 2013 we closed on the building and reopened the shop on National Ice Cream Day (third Sunday in July) that year.

4)    What can we expect moving forward from Klavon’s ?

To take the business to the next level, we started making our own ice cream after Maya, the shop manager, and I took the Penn State Ice Cream Course in 2015.  Since then, our business has grown tremendously and at times it is very difficult to keep up with demand!  We are still trying to figure out how to serve people efficiently in the tiny space we and make certain we have enough staff to provide excellent customer service.  These two things alone are difficult to keep consistent!  Our customers can count on us to constantly be improving and innovating.  We will bring new ice cream flavors and ideas to our shop.  We will also have a number of mini-locations throughout Pittsburgh, our newest one opening up in Sewickley in the Spring of 2017.

5) What is your favorite item on the menu?

A fan favorite and my wife's and my personal favorite is Blue Monster which is blue ice cream with chocolate chip cookie dough and cookies and cream.  My daughter likes vanilla with sprinkles and the boys love chocolate.

Nicole Leckenby is the driving force behind the Holiday Café blog spot.  She also works full-time and runs after two very energetic boys at home.

Here and Gone (Fall 2016 Issue)

a green notebook resides
on the nightstand
with wedding photos and
antacids and glucose tabs
whose only reason is
to catch gossamer things
before they’re gone
before the early birds
and worms and I come
fully alive
and on one page is scribbled:
1/3 tsp. baking soda
2 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice
mix until fizzing stops
then add 8 oz. water

it is a untitled formula
to some
gossamer thing
I can’t now recall

it is an important thing
here and gone

I’ve lived long enough
to have secrets to spare
but something keeps
those secrets secret
even from me
only hints at things
caught in a green notebook

Wanda Morrow Clevenger -  is a Carlinville, IL native.  Over 377 pieces of her work appear or are forthcoming in 135 print and electronic publications.  This Same Small Town in Each of Us  (Edgar & Lenore’s Publishing House; 2011) paypal link: http://edgarallanpoet.com/This_Same_Small_Town.html
A magazine-type blog updated at her erratic discretion is here: http://wlc- wlcblog.blogspot.com/